Photo 2.6.0 - Brush preview has no color under certain circumstances.

[spdorsey]

MacOS 15.3.2 (24D81), Macbook Pro M4, 64GB RAM

Running two 4K displays. I'm trying to reproduce the issue when the native resolution is set to 1080p and it is not happening. But in 4K mode, it is happening.

When I attempt to use the paint brush ("b" hotkey) the app does not give me a preview of the brush hardness and opacity. It just gives me the two circles (no color). Sometimes it happens, sometimes it does not.

I use the hotkeys a LOT. Ctrl-Option is a key combo I use consistently when doing brushwork of any kind. Not sure if that plays into the issue.

Also, if the color is previewing properly, if I pause the mouse for a second or two, it becomes transparent. (Not shown in video).

Edited March 14 by spdorsey

[NathanC]

Hi @spdorsey apologies for the late response

After reviewing your recording, I've observed that the occurrences of no brush preview displaying are the result of having no active pixel layer selected. When you begin painting, the assistant automatically creates a pixel layer so the brush preview is visible, but before this, no layer is actively selected, and therefore no preview is shown on the canvas.

To ensure that you always have a brush preview visible when changing the properties via the CTRL + OPT modifier, i'd recommend having a pixel layer actively selected so the preview displays the brush.

[spdorsey]

5 hours ago, NathanC said:

the occurrences of no brush preview displaying are the result of having no active pixel layer selected.

Thanks for the reply.

As true as that may be, I find it unacceptable. The colored preview should pop up no matter what kind of layer you have selected. After all, clicking with that tool selected will create a pixel layer if one is not currently being used anyway, so there is no reason not to give the user the feedback they are expecting.

Denying the user the visual feedback they may be looking for because of a superfluous issue like what layer you might have selected is not an acceptable UI practice. You should never leave the user hanging. Anticipate their expectations (even if those expectations are set by a competing app) and deliver. You are not going to be redefining any UI standards with Affinity Photo.

I suppose the issue doesn’t really matter since I have switched back to Photoshop. Boy do I hate saying that, I really don’t want to switch back. But affinity photo has proven insufficient for my needs. It’s just not ready for prime time.

But I do hope that affinity gets better. It’s just not there yet. I paid for it, and I will jump across when it’s good enough, it's just not.